A WEEK ago, the prospect of a Woking side getting anything from Tuesday night’s visit to Victoria Road was a remote one at best.

But, despite being reduced to 10 men for the final half-hour, after Ben Abbey received a second yellow card for his second foolish incident, the Cards continued their slow improvement with another spirited display.The confidence gained from Barry Moore’s stunning 25-yard strike with less than two minutes on the clock was enough to see Geoff Chapple’s men through to a deserved point and despite coming under enormous pressure at times, the visitors’ defence coped superbly. Chris Collins — drafted in for the absent Scott Smith who is away on New Zealand duty — Jon Boardman and in particular Ian Simpemba dealt with everything thrown at them and Chapple commented: “Dagenham were a bit predicable and just launched it but I thought our three centre backs were magnificent. Ian is raw but he’s big and strong, wants to win and competes for everything.”Chapple has struck lucky with Simpemba — who arrived at Kingfield purely thanks to the goodwill of Wycombe boss Lawrie Sanchez — and Spurs keeper Shwan Jalal, both of whom he has taken a chance on with a recommendation and fingers crossed. Jalal made two brilliant saves to go with his assured handling throughout and he has an uncanny ability to snuff out impending danger.With Smith’s absence and Nicky Banger out with a calf strain, Collins and Warren Patmore were the enforced changes from Saturday’s team and both gave their all for the cause. Patmore’s aerial prowess was a real asset — more defensively at free kicks and corners than as an attacking weapon — as the Cards rarely looked like troubling Daggers’ keeper Tony Roberts. Former Kingfield men Steve West — who thankfully for Woking was playing up front and rendered totally ineffective — and Steve Perkins were largely anonymous. The Daggers only real threat was the excellent Mark Janney on the right who supplied pace and power and a succession of quality crosses. Moore’s incredible early strike hit the top left-hand corner of the net before anyone could flinch let alone attempt to get in the way of it. “That will be probably be the goal of the season,” said Chapple.Stunned into action, the home side began to find their feet and Lee Matthews should have hit the target with a header from eight yards that flashed wide. Dagenham’s Paul Terry and Danny Hill were finding too much room in midfield and it was to their credit that Woking’s Sean Evers, Rob Kember and Moore kept battling to disrupt daggers’ rhythm whenever they could. Anthony Allman was given a torrid time by Janney and Mark Stein wasted another of his good crosses when he volleyed wide while all alone at the far post.The inevitable pressure told when Stein’s quick feet and superb vision after 26 minutes sent Janney clear and the winger’s finish was clinical. Abbey then got himself needlessly booked for kicking the ball away — after Dagenham’s Hill had been yellow-carded for the same offence minutes earlier — while late in the half, Jalal got down low to his left to expertly tip away Hill’s long-range half volley.For all Dagenham’s possession in the second half though they completely lost their way going forward and ran out of ideas as the Cards’ defensive wall put in a number of superb last-ditch block challenges.Jalal’s only real save was another special one when, although unsighted, he somehow dived full-length to stop substitute Paul Bruce’s fierce drive before gathering the ball in with impressive reflexes.Abbey’s dismissal, for blatantly diving in the penalty area after wasting the chance to score what might have been the winner, will earn him a club fine according to Chapple. With just one up front for the final half-hour the hardworking Patmore was eventually rested for Grant Payne in the later stages and the substitute might have got on the end of Evers’ cross but for the centre being over-hit.It was left to the Woking rearguard to withstand a barrage of late pressure and you only had to look at Daggers’ manager Garry Hill’s face afterwards to know that, despite only getting a point, Woking had upset the form book.